NFL Week 1 Odds, Lines and Spreads

• The NFL season opens Thursday night with the Buccaneers hosting the Cowboys
• The Buccaneers, 49ers and Rams are all 7.5-point favorites in their openers
• All the Week 1 lines and spreads can be found below

The opening of the NFL season is upon us.

Week 1 begins Thursday night with a game between the visiting Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers are 7.5-point favorites in the Week 1 NFL odds.

Sunday’s slate features five games pitting teams that made the playoffs last season as the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts host the Seattle Seahawks, the Cleveland Browns travel to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Hurricane Ida-displaced New Orleans Saints play the Green Bay Packers in Jacksonville, and the Chicago Bears play at the Los Angeles Rams.

NFL Week 1 Opening Odds

Odds as of September 5th at DraftKings.

Three Teams are 7.5-Point Picks

The largest spread on the board is 7.5 points, which is a popular number in Week 1.

The Buccaneers are favored that many in their matchup with the Cowboys. So are the San Francisco 49ers on the road over the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon and the Rams at home over the Bears on Sunday night.

Tampa Bay went 11-5 during the regular season in 2020 then won four games in the postseason to capture the Super Bowl in Tom Brady’s first year on the Gulf Coast. The Buccaneers have every starter back from that team.

BUCS PARADE: The view from SkyFOX as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sail through downtown Tampa to celebrate their Super Bowl championship: https://t.co/NPzS5TGOSl pic.twitter.com/5XfllMLJRV

— FOX 13 Tampa Bay (@FOX13News) February 10, 2021

The Cowboys are trying to bounce back from a 6-10 season. Getting quarterback Dak Prescott back after he sustained a season-ending fractured ankle in Week 5 last year should be a boost.

Beset by injuries, the 49ers went 6-10 last season after reaching the Super Bowl the previous season where they blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Kansas City Chiefs. Incumbent Jimmy Garoppolo remains the starting quarterback but is being pushed by rookie Trey Lance.

Feels great baby ‼️ @JimmyG_10

📺 #LVvsSF on KPIX, https://t.co/vpdsX5I39D and the 49ers app pic.twitter.com/NLbgaseOTp

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) August 29, 2021

The Lions were 5-11 a year ago and are starting a rebuild under rookie coach Dan Campbell. They also have a new QB after acquiring Jared Goff for Matthew Stafford in a blockbuster trade with the Rams.

The Rams believe Stafford is the final piece to their puzzle after finishing 10-6 in the regular season in 2020. They also beat the Seattle Seahawks on the round in the first round of the playoffs a year ago.

Can’t wait to see the Matthew Stafford sidearm in LA 🔥 (via @thecheckdown)

📺: #CHIvsLAR — Sunday, Sept. 12 at 8:20pm ET on NBC
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app pic.twitter.com/CXnSReVJxP

— NFL (@NFL) September 3, 2021

The Bears made the playoffs despite an 8-8 record last season but cut ties with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Chicago will roll with veteran Andy Dalton at QB but fans in the Windy City are already clamoring for rookie Justin Fields to take over the offense. Bettors can take advantage of Caesars Sportsbook $5,000 Risk-Free Bet & Free NFL Jersey promo. Follow the Caesars sportsbook link to choose the promo for your state.

Chargers Slight Road Favorites

The smallest spread is the one point the Los Angeles Chargers are favored by on the road against the Washington Football Team on Sunday.

Despite finishing 7-9, the Chargers had the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in quarterback Justin Herbert. However, they also have a new coach this season as Brandon Staley replaces Anthony Lynn.

https://twitter.com/Ethanhamm/status/1433489877530644483

The NFC East was so bad in 2020 that Washington finished atop the division standings despite a 7-9 record. However, coach Ron Rivera continued the overhaul of the roster in his second offseason and the WFT has a new starting quarterback in the ageless Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Big and Small Totals

The largest Week 1 over/under is 53 points for the Browns-Chiefs game as a shootout is expected between QBs Baker Mayfield and Patrick Mahomes.

The Chiefs were sixth in the NFL in scoring last season with an average of 29.6 points a game. At 25.5, the Browns were 14^th.

Well-deserved 👏 Congrats @PatrickMahomes on being voted 1️⃣ on the #NFLTop100! pic.twitter.com/wGeH5gI5ZW

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) August 28, 2021

The 41.5 points total for the game between the visiting Denver Broncos and New York Giants is the lowest on the board. Both teams were near the bottom of the league in scoring last season as the Broncos were 28^th at 20.2 points a game and the Giants were 31^st with a 17.5 average.

The Broncos have a new quarterback in journeyman Teddy Bridgewater. The Giants hope QB Daniel Jones can take a big step forward in his third season.

Movement on The Line

Speaking of Broncos-Giants, Denver is a three-point favorite. That line seems a little high for a road team that finished 5-11 last season and has a new quarterback in Bridgewater, whose record was just 4-11 for the Carolina Panthers last season and will be looking over his shoulder at Drew Lock.

#Broncos' Teddy Bridgewater Favored to Become First #NFL QB Benched in 2021

READ: https://t.co/2KOi6f1i0u pic.twitter.com/lLleCeER78

— Zack Kelberman (@KelbermanNFL) September 2, 2021

Throw in a dash of the usual New York bias among bettors and it seems likely the spread will drop a bit by kickoff.

Another line that seems perhaps a hair too large is the Packers being 4.5-point choices over the Saints.

Granted, New Orleans has been forced to leave home and has a new QB as Jameis Winston replaces the retired Drew Brees. However, the Packers were less than impressive in the preseason and have their own QB drama with Aaron Rodgers’ uncertain future in Green Bay.